Orange County is still looking for a new County Engineer to replace Clark Slacum who retired in May. The Commissioners Court was scheduled to interview the final candidate Tuesday, but the unnamed prospect withdrew from consideration for the position as the head of the Orange County Road and Bridge Department.
County Judge John Gothia informed that the applicant the Court wanted to interview for the position of County Engineer has accepted another job. “We’re going to reopen the application process up so that we can continue to look for a road and bridge engineer with the qualifications to fill the needs we have,” Gothia said.
Senior Supervisor Trey Gilbert will continue to serve as the head of the Road and Bridge Department until a County Engineer is hired. Judge Gothia indicated he and the Commissioners Court are very pleased with the work being done by Gilbert who unfortunately is not a certified engineer which the position of County Engineer requires or he would be a strong candidate for the position.
About fifty citizens attended a workshop with the Commissioners Court Tuesday to discuss proposed regulations for game rooms in the county. All of the citizens in attendance were opposed to the increasing number of the game rooms and the rise in crime associated with them.
Two county constables, Matt Ortego and Jeremiah Gunter, spoke during the workshop about the illegal activities that seem to be tied to the game rooms including the movement of drugs, instances of prostitution, and even child trafficking. Other crimes like burglaries are being blamed on participates of the game rooms who need money to feed their attraction to the locations.
In addition to the constables there were eight other citizens who verbalized their opposition to the game rooms. Most of the citizens who spoke live in the Mauriceville area or outside of Vidor where the game rooms are most prevalent.
Orange County has assigned Assistant County Attorney Denise Gremillion to work up the regulations which will abide by state law, but will also include items already adopted by Jefferson County in their game room regulations. Judge Gothia said he will discuss the options with the Commissioners over the next few days and will have Gremillion prepare an item for the Court to consider for approval during an upcoming meeting of the Commissioners Court soon.
The Commissioners Court met in their regular session Tuesday for the month of July. Updates were received for recovery from recent disasters and projects for the Road and Bridge Department and the Maintenance Department.
Maintenance Director Kurt Guidry said he has received quotes on repairs to six buildings his department will be doing work. He added that repairs to 19 buildings damaged during Hurricane Laura have been completed. The repairs from damage by Hurricane Harvey to the main courthouse building will be forthcoming.
Emergency Management Director Joel Ardoin informed that a possible building to house the vaccination clinic for Orange and Hardin County has been identified. The building is in Hardin County and the county attorney’s office there is working out the agreement for the possible lease of the facility.
Ardoin reported that the Fourth of July holiday has caused a spike in the cases of the Coronavirus. Cases across the area had been below a hundred according to Ardoin, but now the numbers have climbed above that.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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